Soil scarifier



Jan. 8, 1952 c. c. BALDWIN son. SCARIFIER Filed July 10, 1948 HI! IIIIIIIIHI 48 I N V N TOR. 6 /7 /55 6. 54/41/10 BY J r4770 NEV.

Patented Jan. 8, 1952 SOIL SCARIFIER Curtis 0. Baldwin, Whitney, NebL, assignor, by

direct and mesne assignments, to 0. Earl Hovey,

trustee Application July 10, 1948, Serial No. 38,055

1 Claim. 1

This invention has to do generally with farm implements and more specifically to asoil-handlingapparatusin the nature of a mobile unit provided with soil engaging shovels of a nature very novel and capable when placed in use of entering the ground and moving along below thesurface thereof to present a cutting and consequent pulverizing action upon the. soil.

The most important .object of this invention is to provide a soilscarifier having .aplurality of specially formed shovels, each of the shovels constituting a pair of separate interconnected elongated blades both of which have their longitudinal. axes disposed substantially horizontally.

Another importantobject of this invention is to provide shovel blades for soil scarifiers of the above-mentioned character wherein such blades diverge as. one end thereof .is approached to present a. forwardly extending point and wherein such blades are each angled outwardly as the lowermost edge thereof. is approached.

. Another object of this invention is to provide a soil scarifier having blades as above set forth, wherein such blades are curved inwardly and transversely throughout the length; are provided with inturned juxtaposed interconnected flanges and also provided withjspeciallyformed overlapping interconnecting plates.

Afurther object of this invention is to provide a soil scarifier having a specially formed framework and wheel and axle assemblies that is light and yet durable in construction, the aforesaid wheel and axle assemblies having so mounted upon the framework as to permit raising and lowering of the frameworkand the soil treating shovels aflixed thereto asdesired.

Many additional objects .will be made clear or become apparent during the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. .1 is a top plan View of a soil scarifier madein accordance with the present invention, parts being broken away to reveal details of construction.

,Fig. 21' is'asideelevational'view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken .on line III-III ofFig. 2, showing. a top plan view of one of the shovels, per se; and

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of one of said shovels.

A frame broadly designated by the numeral it includes a tubular T-shaped member l2. This memberl2 constitutes a beam'ld and a cross leg IB rigidly secured to one end of the beam M. A U-shaped member l8, also forming a part of the frame l0, is disposed withinthe same plane as the member l2 and has-its bight intermediate the ends thereof affixed directly to the beam l4 as-by weldinglfl.

The free ends of the spaced-apart substanhas a perforated flat link 30 for connection with.

a tractor or other pulling. mobile unit.

An elongated shaft extending preferably the entire length of the cross leg l6 and preferably of tubular character is designated by the numeral 32 and disposed in telescoping relationship within the leg 16. This shaft 36 may be either freely rotative within the leg [6 or secured thereto in anysuitable manner. The ends of the shaft 36 extend a short distance outwardly beyond proximate ends of the member 16 and each receives an arm 38. These arms 38 are provided with a bearing 40 on one end thereof securing the projectedendof shaft 36 and these bearings 40 are freely rotative on shaft 36.

A pair of washers 42 are disposed on opposite sides of the bearing 40 and a removable cotter key or the like 44, passing through the shaft 36, serves to hold the bearing 40 and washers 42 in place. The ends of arms 38, opposite to bearings 40 thereof, carry an outwardly andlaterally projecting axle 46 rotatably supporting a wheel 48. i

A crank 50 has one end thereof pivotally mounted on a respective arm 38 intermediate the ends of the latter and the opposite end thereof pivotally secured to the lowermost end of an upstanding lever 52. This lever 52 is providedlwitha conventional latch engageable with a toothed segment 54- mounted directly upon the uppermost face of a respective leg of frame member It. This lever 52' is joined to a stub shaft 56 rotatably mounted within respective segmenti l.

'Downturned link58 on theinnermost end of the stub shaft 56 has one end of a spring 60 joined. thereto. Such spring 60: has itsopposite end connected to the leg [5 of member 12 as at 62.

It isclear in the drawing that thereare two I arms 38, one on eachside-of the framework I0 60. tially parallel legs of U-shaped member 18 are and. likewise to wheels 487a pair of levers 52 and a pair of interconnecting cranks .50.

It is obvious that in lieu of-such construction, one lever 52 may be provided for raising and lowering of the frame H) with respect to the wheels 48. However, by providing a pair of adjustable assemblies, the framework It may be i adjusted to compensate for uneven terrain when the scarifier is placed in use.

The springs-Btaid in supporting part of the weight of the assembly when levers 52 are actuated;

plurality of {downwardly -extemiing-r standards 64 depend from and are affixed in their uppermost. ends directly to the leg l6. These standards 64 are disposed and contoured to arrange the shovels at the lowermost end thereof in staggered relationship as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

These shovels broadly designated'by the numeral 66 include a pair of blades 68 and 70, there being a left and right hand blade or shear68 and 70 respectively. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the blades 68 and are elongated, relatively thin plates and are disposed with the normally forward ends thereof converging. These forward ends of the blades 68 and 10 are each provided with an inwardly extending laterally projecting flange 12. These flanges 12 are disposed in juxtaposition and interconnected by a number of bolts or the like 14.

Inaddition to this means of joining blades 68 and 10, a pair of substantially L-shaped plates 16 are provided. Each of these plates 16 has one leg thereof joined to the innermost face of a respective blade 68 or 70 by means of bclts18. The openings within the blades 68 and 10 for receiving bolts 78 are countersunk in the usual manner and bolts 18 are provided with truncated heads to provide a smooth outermost surface on the shovel 66 in the conventional manner.

The other leg of each of the plates 16 overlaps a corresponding plate 16 and such legs are joined by a plurality of bolts 80. These bolts 80 pass through a flange 82, resting directly upon the uppermost face of the top plate 18, and shank 84 is secured to this flange member 82. This upstanding shank 84 is connected to the lowermost end of a respective standard 54 by means of a bolt 86, adjustability being provided by means of intermeshing teeth 88 on shank 84 and standard 64 respectively.

As illustrated in Fig. '2, the blades 68 and 10 are normally disposed with their longitudinal axes substantially horizontal. Furthermore, as is clear in Fig. 4, each of these blades 68 and 10 is angled outwardly as the lowermost edges thereof are approached. In other words, these blades 68 and 10 converge as the uppermost edge thereof is approached.

It is, also, to be noted, as is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 4, that these blades 68 and 10 are curved inwardly and transversely throughout substantially their entire lengths. While the uppermost edges of blades 68 and 70 may be substantially straight, the lowermost edges of such blades 68 and H3 are straight throughout substantially their entire length and such lowermost edges flare outwardly and downwardly as the leading point 90 of the shovel '66 is approached. This outward flaring is indicated by the numeral 92.

By the same token, the normally forward edge of each of the blades 68 and 10 are at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the re spective blade. These edges of the blades 68 and i0 cooperate when in abutting relationship, as shown in Fig. 3, to present a relatively sharp edge 94 extending rearwardly and upwardly from the point 90 of shovel 66.

The precise shape and contour of the shovel 66 as above set forth is highly important to the operation of the implement as contemplated. This shovel 66 differs from the conventional cultivator bladein that the same is designed to operate below the surface of the ground and to cut the soil causing pulverization thereof as the implement is moved along without points of the.

shovels 66 in a leading position.

These shovels 66 differ from cultivator shovels therefore in that it is a. cutting action below the surface of the ground without a turning of the soil as is true with cultivator shovels.

The distance between the normally rear ends of the blades 68 and 10 may vary as desired, but these ends should overlap proximate ends of adjacent shovels 66 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1.

The interconnection above set forth between .the blades 68 and I0 provide for easy operation of these blades and reassembling when it becomes necessary to sharpen the lowermost cutting edges thereof.

It is apparent from the foregoing that an extremely efficient, inexpensive soil scarifier has been provided operating differently from the conventional types of earth-handling implements. This implement operates in line with the most recent agricultural theories that the soil should not be turned, as has heretofore been the common practice, but such soil should simply be loosened, leaving the soil in apacked condition.

The implement may be made as large as desired and a great area can be covered in a minimum amount of time. Manifestly, many changes and modifications may be made to the single embodiment herein disclosed and described without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claim. I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: V

A cultivator shovel comprising a pair of elongated, transversely-angled blades, each having a transversely, concave outermost face and each' provided with an uppermost and a lowermost longitudinal edge, the longitudinal axes of the blades being horizontal and converging as one end of the shovel is approached, said blades being in abutting relationship at one end thereof, presenting a cutting edge terminating in 'a leading point at the proximal end of said lowermost longitudinal edges, .said cutting edge being inclined downwardly and forwardly toward said leading point; inturned, face-to-faoe flanges on said one end of the blades; bolt and nut means releasably interconnecting the flanges; a triangular, shankreceiving, horizontal plate between the blades near the uppermost longitudinal edges thereof having opposed downturned flanges; and bolt Y and nut means releasably joining the blades to said flanges of the plate.

CURTIS C. BALDWIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

'UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,351,388 Baxter June 13, 1944 

